Walking in a winter wonderland… Is this not the most beautiful picture ever? There are no filters, modifications, or alterations. This is exactly the same picture as it was taken straight from a cheap smart phone camera. Ahh-mazing! Thank you Caretaker for driving to the casa to take pictures of a snow covered Boxes in Fields! All of this beautiful winter weather and Boxes in Fields were not at home to experience it. Boo-hoo. Three glorious fluffy inches of snow…
Hot dog, more work. There is no shortage of work right now. Plans for the next two weeks are detailed down to the last minute of each day. Hoping the weather does not change, the Planner has rounded up family and friends to expedite work. It all started with this simple delivery on the Tuesday before Thanksgiving. Have you figured out what was delivered? Yup, you’ve guessed it. Sono tubing. Do you know what that means? More conex boxes. I…
Like father, like son. Like, mother, like daughter. Well, this kid may look like a mini-me, but he is his father’s child. From his mannerisms, to his quirky remarks, his taste in music to his artistic abilities, this kid is more like his dad than me. Never have you seen me carrying around notebooks to meet the sudden urge to doodle. That is a Planner trait. The Planner and his excessive amounts of notebooks. Never have I had created beautiful…
The Kid has been staying in our teeny tiny Airstream again and let me tell you, NOBODY has patience for that anymore. It was one thing when he was three, four, and five. It’s a whole other story when he is almost 10. Poor thing he doesn’t fit on the couch without scrunching into a ball. When did he get to be so big? No, not old because that implies I too am older and I am not. I am…
On the road again, just can’t wait to get on the road again….. Oh, Willie, who knew your words would strike an accord with so many people for so long time . Yeah, we are on the road home. Goodbye squatting home and welcome Boxes in Fields home. Goodbye to AC and full sized stove/oven. Goodbye two bedroom, one bathroom with tub. Hello to three people and a doggo in one teeny tiny trailer. Ahhh, home. The closer we got…
Since Plan473 still does not have any electricity and as we can no longer just sit around, we decided to keep removing, cutting, and sorting of the broken trees. Some would say that it is busy work but at least I can show something for my efforts. Just think in two years or so, we will have plenty of dried wood for BBQing. Besides, cutting firewood makes me happy as I get to use the chain saw. Hot dog, I…
Normally, I like to start a post with a picture. It kinda sets the ground for the post. However, a note must be said in order to move forward. Today’s date as I publish this post is November 20, 2018 and I started writing this post five days ago. It has taken me that long to process emotions and feelings onto paper. Yes, you read correctly, it has been fifteen months after Harvey. Fifteen months since I have looked at…
You know, maintenance is designed for those who enjoy self torture. After spending a few days re-caulking the Rainstream, scrubbing baseboards with a toothbrush, wiping down walls, and cleaning out of all cabinets from the past three years of residue, I decided enough was enough. Truer words have not been spoken when children complain about making their beds. Why make the bed when it is just gonna be unmade tonight? Why scrub the trailer when we are just gonna move…
O’ Brother Where Art Thou is probably one of the best movies ever. EVER! One of the best lines before Harvey: “Well ain’t this place a geographical oddity! Two weeks from everywhere!” One of the best lines after Harvey: “Well ain’t this place a geographical oddity. Two weeks from everywhere”. It has been two weeks since Harvey forever changed Boxes in Fields. Friends and family and people unknown continue to offer support and assistance from clean up crews, to meals,…
Because at this point there are just no words…. The highlight of the adventure home, besides the fact very little damage was received, was the chickens. All eleven survived and all ten seemed to be laying eggs. Hurricane or no hurricane, these are some egg laying peepers!
What an amazing, life changing experience last week held for Boxes in Fields. There was sandlands, desert lands, and mountainlands, moose, elk, and pronghorns, and highways, backways, and dirt ways. There was camp food, fast food, and local joint food. Just a few hours short of one week from the start date, the Solar Eclipse traveling truck was returned, traveling gear switched vehicles, and the solar eclipse viewers continued traveling for another three hours to get home. Last week Thursday…
Thursday started out like any other work day at 6:15am. Work from 7-4 and at 4:39 pm we are finally on our way to our vacation! Aren’t we just the epitome of happiness? I had a rough day at work, the Planner was sunburned from a day spent packing travel goods, the Kid is just a kid and happy to be doing anything new, and the doggo, well the doggo is indifferent. Friday, started out with breakfast with the Doubter…
It is Wednesday and tomorrow we leave for Solar Eclipse 2017. Just less than 24 hours and we will be headed for the long, glorious trip North. North, to the land of cooler, drier weather. North, to the land of the flat, grasslands in front of treed mountains. North to watch an event that has not happened in the continental US in over 30 years. North to a much-needed vacation. Because this week has been just as hectic as last…
Do you have children? Nieces? Nephews? Younger cousins? Neighbor kids? Well if you do or you don’t, the following statement will not matter. What matters is that you hold true to it. This statement, depending on your age, will go against how you were raised, how you might have raised your children, how you will continue to raise your kids, and will be a running thought at the back of your subconscious mind if you ever raise your own kids….
Time is a tricky thing. Some days it snails past you. Other days it subsonics past you. Here it is the 9th of Aug, a full third way into the month. We leave for Solar Eclipse 2017 one week. One week and there is so much to do still in preparation for vacation. Work, window, work, sailing, work, secure chicken checkers, work, you get the idea. Wanting the Shop Box fully windowed and hatched before our trip, the Planner has…
Good grief! It is a good thing most other projects do not take so long to complete. The third window took three days to complete. First, the frame wouldn’t fit. Then, the wind protection box had to be modified two additional times before it worked as needed, sort of. Finally, on the third day’s attempt, the hatch was installed with little complications and the window was completed, finally. Why a solid week from start to finish. Well besides the Planner…
What a busted weekend. Started window number three in the Shop Box and did not complete it. Started an outside shower and did not complete it either. Having so many uncompleted projects leads to more uncompleted projects. They seem to multiple, exponentially. Not wanting more uncompleted projects, Monday the parts to the shower were bought at the local box hardware store. A change of plans about how to build the shower is one thing. A change of plans when driving…
Somethings in life are just not fair. In college, it was taught fair is what is right for the individual student, not the class as a whole. While I adhere to this thinking to most everything I do in life, sometimes life is just not fair. The summer heat is upon us here in South Texas. Temperatures are in the upper 90’s and the humidity is in the 90th percentile. Okay, I don’t really know how high the humidity has…
Gosh, where has the time gone? These tiny, little fluff balls are already five months old and have been in need of a much larger watering system. With a vacation in the next few weeks, now was the time to build one. Didn’t want to wait until the last minute in case the original idea did not work as intended. Besides, a larger, self filling system would mean one less thing the Sailor will have to check on while we…
Guess you are wondering where the posts have been? They have been working, that’s where. Summer is a busy, busy time for me at work. Summer is a busy, busy time for me at Boxes in Fields. Last month after the Kid participated in the local regatta, he was given a grant to attend a month long sailing camp in the next city over. He did so well we continued classes for the month of July, too. Classes are Tuesday…
What is a sailor’s favorite joke?Knot Knot Jokes! Thank you, I will be here all night. Hey there, what a fan-dancy looking knot! Because the Kid is now participating in sailing, and I feel it is important to understand the knots he is supposed to be learning, I am learning them too. This is a barrel knot, one of the many stopper knots used on boats. What is a stopper knot? It is simply a knot used to stop the…
Try as I may, I never seem to complete an idea for a blog. Cameras were purchased for the purpose of recording at various angles and compiling a video instead of taking picture after picture. However, as of yet, getting the camera to record the idea in my head has not happened. Not to mention how time-consuming videos are to take, prepare, and load onto the blog. Don’t get me wrong, I watch a fair amount of vlogs but just…
Help we are being robbed by the masked sailor! This last week has been spent preparing the Kid for his very first sailing regatta. Nothing like a drop kick to the butt to ge tone going. “Hey Kid, there is gonna be a youth regatta at the local sailing club. You sailed for a week last year at camp, you wanna participate?” Three days later after trip to the next city over for borrowed sailing gear, a quick refresher in…
I have put this off and put this off and have even omitted discussing in several posts because I had this great idea to write a tool post. Yet here it is, a year later and I have decided now is the time and I have more tools than anticipated. In order to proceed, clarification is in order. Some of these tools are new to us on loan and some of these tools are new to us because they were…
Don’t you just love Star Trek? Cheesy lines, trouble with tribbles, and bad acting. It was great! First, there was no power, now there is no easy access to power. The main power pole to Boxes in Fields is less than 20″ away from the man door. To have power into the shop, an extension cord must be run outside. This has been working just fine and would probably work just fine for most situations. However, in a shop of…
Lexico.com states a mandoor is “a slave who acts as the foreman of other slaves”. Thankfully we are not talking about slaves and slave foremen. In modern society, man doors are doors to the man cave. When I was a child, hell until just a few years ago, I had never heard of the word man door or man cave. Reference.com states a man door is “is a standard swing-style door that is built into a garage door. It may…
In 1993 there was an ever so popular country song that here 25 years later the songs still plays in my head on Monday. “With the alarm clock ting a ling a ringin’ in my head, I woke up dog tired, beat down half dead. Tryin’ to recover from another wild weekend, chuggin’ down the coffee when I should’ve been sleepin’ Well, it sure is Monday, isn’t it now.” I think Mark Chesnutt had something going there with that song….
Last week may have ended with beautiful warm sunny DRY days but this week is promising more rain. May/June are typically the wet months and while Boxes in Fields likes the rain, the rain makes it difficult to progress when the tractor is stuck in the Tractor Box and it is needed at the Shop Box. Oh, well at least the week started off with a bang. What a better way to start a week than with the purchase of…
Sundays are supposed to be slow days. Days spent at home relaxing before the return of the stressful work week. Sundays at Boxes in Fields are like any other day of the week. Work. At least here lately they have been just work. On the Sunday while the the Planner was welding the metal door frame on the Shop Box, the Kid was doing whatever nine-year boys do, I decided to get out the ever trusty old toothbrush and scrub…
After a productive weekend, Monday was used as a down day. The conex box was cleaned up from its weekend worth of work and then just observed for its general awesomeness. With nothing else on the agenda, the Planner and the Kid decided to make a hot shot run to the Big City #1 to pick up materials on Tuesday. Of course as with all things at the metal store, getting there is the easy part. Picking up the materials,…
Three days of hard work and one day of prep work has kept the Planner very busy. The Doubter came down for a three day weekend to help with the conex shuffle and slide. However, before any shuffling or sliding could happen, more prep work had to be completed. Paint. First step is always the hardest. Where to start, when to start, should I start. Make painting the first step and the step now becomes harder. Nobody likes to paint…
Sunday, Sunday, Sunday. Growing up there used to be a commerical played over the weekends enticing people to visit and shop a newly developed neighborhhod. At the time, the neighborhood was quite the drive from anything happening in Big City #1. The annoucer used to talk about the quite serene neighborhoods all while yelling into the mic. Hello, it is an advertisement on the radio. He did not need to yell. The ticket about this weekend tradition was that potential…
In one short sentence, rather video, I can wrap up the two weeks since The Conex Slide. Cock-a-doodle-doo the rooster is crowing! And crowing…. And crowing… And oh my word, just close your beakadee-beakadee-beak-beak already!!!!! Yes, I love my little peepers who are now two months old. They are fun and cute and yes, vocal. They are not however this freaking rooster vocal. I have never once said in all my years, “Let’s get a rooster!” There have many other…
Ah, chickens. After being released into their new chicken run on Friday, a lot of time was spent over the weekend just watching the little peepers do their thing. There is something very relaxing about chickens maintaining proper hygiene. Have you ever watched a chicken scratch? I am not talking about seeing a chicken scratch, I am talking about intently watching how they scratch. Satisfying was it not? How does a chicken even know where it scratched? To the untrained…
I originally started this post by saying that it was a slow week. But once I started writing it, I discovered it wasn’t a slow week but a week spent on the same thing. Completion of the little peeper run. At some point more 2×4’s were purchased including this southern yellow pine stamped “Made in Texas”. Didn’t know the great state of Texas made 2×4’s. This bit of new information perplexes me greatly. Where in Texas are trees grown for…
After working and working and working this weekend from sun up to sun down on sandblasting and paint sun structures, Boxes in Fields spent this week getting back to the basics of nature. Gardening. Look at this little gardener working so hard to plant squash seeds on Monday. Three mounds of yella squash with five seeds pushed in two finger digits deep. Precise depth measuring to ensure seeds are not washed away when watering. Thursday evening we went to the…
Wow, I am thirty something and yet I am still amazed at how quickly time flies. It has already been four months since moving to Boxes in Fields from the RV park. The Kid is going to be the big one-zero in just nine months. Nine months. Holy crap Batman, kick in the afterburners and get moving on living. Time is ticking away. But as life has it known over and over, one can neither wish to have time move…
Good grief, because there’s nothing going on the Planner and the Kid decided to ready a plot for a garden. Seriously, sometimes I don’t know about these two. Thinking the ground could be turned by pitchfork resulted in two things, a tired Kid and a broken pitchfork. Guess handed down tools don’t last forever. As it was only the handle that broke and a new handle was not readily available, the Planner finished the job with the tractor. Once done…
It seems like every time plans finally get back on track another hooey is thrown. Almost two weeks since the last rain delay, another more potent deluge was received on the 11th. This time, there was an 8″ deluge. What a way to start a weekend! Sunday, with nothing better to do, it was decided to finally open the camcorder purchased a few days before. Of course, as it turns out, I was the practice dummy. And who loves the…
Texas weather is unpredictable during the spring. Hot then cold. Dry then drowning. And my favorite calm breezes then batten down the hatches winds. All of these can change at the drop of a pin and several times a day. Somehow in all this craziness, spring has managed to arrive in all its beauty. Knowing next to nothing about wildflowers. What is do know is that they are beautiful and I must take the time to enjoy their beauty. And…
Yeah, the swamp has finally dried out and the little peepers are out of the trailer, out of their brooding boxes, and in the coop. Without another moment wasted, the Planner was back at work on the subframes again. Two weeks have past since the outer frames were erected. Now for the inner frames and cross bracing. Upon erection of the outer subframe, a mistake in the design was discovered. Unlike other measured errors, this was more than an inch….
Not two days after being placed in the brand new chicken coop did I decide the standard chicken waterer and feeder had to go. I know, I know. I even ranted about why I used chicken nipples in the first place several posts ago but I thought maybe little peepers wouldn’t be as messy as chickens. Wrong, wrong, wrong. If anything, they are messier. Their little feets can stand within the water ring meaning when they poop it lands directly…
Ahh, the roller coaster of Texas weather. Last Friday, meltiiiing. Bet you remembered to read in your best witch voice today, didn’t you? Ha! Saturday, less than 24 hours after recording 116 in the trailer, layers were needed. Cold weather aside, the weekend’s plans were to continue on with the chicken box. Completion was the goal. As you are well aware, time is not on your side at times. Worked hard all weekend, and yet the coop is still not…
It is amazing how fast a week can fly by. Every day the realization: 1) another day is gone, 2) a post has not been written, and 3) there will never be enough time in a day to accomplish everything can be a little overwhelming. Last week Thursday and Friday, the subframe was started and it moved so smoothly it was thought to have been completed by now. But it turns out, timeline planning has the same accuracy of predicting…
Taking just under half a days time over a two day period, the Planner erected the outside subframes for the shipping container boxes. Why are you asking yourself did it take so long? Just one word for you: Accuracy, accuracy, accuracy. The subframes were built with only inches to spare. No fudge room. No give room. Only precision. Ensuring the subframes were exactly where they supposed to be required them to be checked for “square and plum” over and over…
Happy Hallmark Day! Did you remember to buy every person you know a valentine day card, some chocolate, a flower? Oh, you did, well good for you. Not me. This is a not, nor has it been for a really, really long time, a holiday I embrace. This is a holiday solely for the purpose of buying crap we don’t care about to give to people we don’t care about. Guess you could say it was ruined in college when…
It’s is not spring, but it should be. The weather is warm, warm, warm and summer is months away. If temperatures keep with this trend, Texas will melt by summer’s end. What better way to spend a warm sunny winter day? Spring cleaning! Yes, spring cleaning in February. Many, many years ago I read a quote by Ellen Degeneres on ridding life of clutter. “One can spring clean or move”. How true her statement is. Nothing can rid one of…
The Planner and the Kid went to big city #1 for a week to build subframes needed to support the Shop boxes. According to regulations, the floor of the shop must be 18″ above base flood elevation of 7 feet which results in a finished floor height of 4 feet above natural grade. Before any frames could be built, materials were needed. This above all other steps in the subframe building process was the most infuriating and time-consuming. Apparently, it…
From start to finish, in cold and hot weather, with gentle breezes and gale force winds, with and without help from friends, the final footing was poured yesterday. Who-hoo, ten footings! Can you believe on this monumental moment only one single picture was taken! ONE! Oh sure, there was a camera running to capture the whole process but only one still image. No close ups, no steps of the process, no moment in time. And, to make matters worse, the…
It has been a while since I’ve posted about the Water Management System. Went on and on about not having any water and now that I do, not a drop. Figures, really. It is easy to rant and rave. It takes time and effort to report. Let us recap the great water debacle. I guess one could say it all started when the land was still under the 30 day option period way back in Nov 2015. The Request for…
Can you believe it? The day has finally come. Footing #1 was poured, Oh, wait, what’s that you say? Footing #2 was poured, too. Hot damn!!! It was a very busy weekend and major progress was made at Boxes in Fields. With all the excitement on Saturday, yet another picture of the water collected in the holes was not taken. You just have to believe me when I say five wet/dry vacuum cleaner buckets were collected at a four-gallon capacity. …
Every new year seems to start out busier than the previous year. The new year represents plans and goals, resolutions, and normal work weeks. Everybody, even those who say they don’t, have New Year’s resolutions. Boxes in Fields has set their New Year’s resolution bar very high. Very high indeed. The plan at Boxes in Fields is to be out of the RV before Stinky Feet turns the big 1-0. What would be a better birthday gift than for the…
A Texas winter on the coast is unlike any winter experienced elsewhere. The usual signs of fall and winter with colored, crunchy, dead leaves don’t arrive until late December and into January. Vibrant colors are always so fantastic. Honestly, there is nothing like the multiple colored leaves of a poison ivy plant to set the winter moods. Sure, there are other signs, but they just happen and you don’t really see the changes. It is more like you wake up…
Here we go again. Another year, another moving of this pile of One Man’s Trash. Hopefully, this will be the last time this material is moved. If wasn’t so useful, it would just be scrapped. However, my waste-less (everything can be reused at least once more) side just can’t throw it away. So it gets moved. Again. This time, we are moving it to the far side of the property where it should be out of the way for any…
With the end of the year here, Boxes in Fields spent the last few days wrapping up some odds and end projects in preparation for next year. In order to move forward, one must have a good footing. Working around in a mess is not the start to a solid foundation. To obtain a solid footing foundation, the very first thing needing completion was the clean up and organization of the two Storage boxes. One box is mainly being used…
Aww, what a sweet dog! How old is your puppy? If you believed in pictures, then you’d be right. Honestly, how can anyone resist something with this level of cuteness? She is loyal to a fault. Her breed, which is pure-d mutt, must have some kind of pack dog breed mixed in because she follows the Planner around like a monkey on a leash. He walks, she walks. He sits, she sits. She sits even when she doesn’t fit. Like…
I am not even going to attempt to explain the water management system the Planner created. I am not going to explain because I don’t understand it. There are pipes controlling the water flow from the collection tank to the IBC storage tank, from the collection tank to the either one or both of the 3000 gallon storage tanks, from the collection tank to the trailer, and any other combination needed. It a 5 factorial (5!) math problem. All I…
Yeah, the holidays are among us. There will be ham, cranberry sauce, decorated cookies, and spiced drinks. There will be good gifts, bad gifts, forgotten gifts, and returned gifts. There will be kids home from school, businesses open but workers not working, packed stores, and busy streets. General attitudes will deteriorate at the biggest gift-giving day of the year nears closer and closer. Unless of course, you do not celebrate holidays. Then for you and me and many, many other…
Last week, the free water collection was worked out leaving the Planner with the next, more difficult step. The water management system. As mentioned before, the system for moving water from one tote to another is not as simple as turning on a valve. Fortunately, there is still time to work out all the details for the management system. Right now, there is a platform to build. And oh, what a platform it is, too. As with all structures built,…
After several setbacks from incorrect equipment and bad weather, Boxes in Fields finally has WiFi. Now that I know what the WiFi connection looks like, I am realizing even more residents and businesses of this fine county have WiFi service from this local mom and pop provider. It saddens my heart even more about the level of services unavailable in these great states. Since finding out last weekend about our source of free water it has been very busy here…
Since moving from the RV park to Boxes in Fields, just over one mile from city hall in a county of 20K+, it has come to our attention that we now reside in a black hole. I know you are thinking: A) we chose to live here and B) we are being dramatic. Yes, we chose to live here. But as discussed in previous posts, some things did not come to our attention until after signing on the dotted line. …
I am so excited about what I have to tell you that I don’t even know where to start. I want to sing, I want to dance, I want to jump up and down, I want to stop smiling but I just cannot. My cheeks are starting to hurt from the extreme level of happiness being experienced. And best of all, when I realize I have stopped smiling, I want to sing, I want to dance, I want to jump…
It’s official, the well has been dumped. As mentioned in previous posts of the great water debacle at Boxes in Fields, we now have to resort to other resources for all of our water collection, not just supplemental needs. For the time being, water will be collected from a friend who has both city water and well water. He only uses the well water to water his yard and claims the water is rich in iron. Being this water is…
Pick your favorite ending saying: That’s it, that’s the last straw, it was the straw that broke the camel’s back, or it’s the end of the end. As for me, I am just plain done. For a week the outside shower has been used. Ok, so it’s not really a shower but a garden hose attached to a hose bib. Before the permanent shower was built, we wanted to ensure showering with well water would work. Didn’t want to go…
Yesterday was a slack off today and today is the Kid’s birthday. And since nobody wants to work on their birthday, the Planner and the Kid had another free day. But this was a fun day. Not one bit of work was done. This day has been in the making for weeks and weeks. The Kid has been counting down for months and months. Seriously. He started sometime after summer. “Hey mumma, it’s only three months till my B-Day!” “Hey…
What a Monday! This was my view outside my office this morning. Yes, I know. I have the best job ever. And this was my view when I came home this afternoon. Yes, I know. I have the best family ever. After a week long staycation, it was decided that today was going to be an easy day. Since all the electrical lines are working and the PVC lines are not leaking after having held pressure for 24 hours, the…
Can’t believe another week has gone by. Seriously need to consider taking a real vacation. Go hiking or camping or something. This work, work, work all day long can get to be just too much. The rational part of the mind says “look at all the was accomplished in these few days”, “your now living the long-lived dream”, “time spent with family is never time wasted”. Yada, yada, yada. All I know is tomorrow is Monday and I have to…
Several weeks ago when the Planner completed another Texas Triangle trip ago, Boxes in Fields repossessed the BBQ pit from the Doubter. For the last few years, it has resided at his lake house where he modified it by adding the firebox. Being it was his BBQ pit in the first place that he donated to us and was donated back to him, I guess he could modify it all he wanted. Lately however, the Doubter has decided wood BBQ…
The day has finally come. Can you believe it? Not me, and I just did it. The Airstream has moved to Boxes in Fields. The property is no longer just the property, Boxes in Fields is now home. There is septic, electricity, and water. Okay, there is not a well or city water, but there is enough water in an IBC tote to last a few weeks. I mean good golly, there is already 14KWH on the meter just from…
Compared to yesterday, today was an easy day. It was just the installation of the RV power pole and the running of the electrical lines. Simple, right? Right, simply taking all day to complete these two simple tasks. Last week while the Planner was in big city #1, he gained some insights on how to easily pull electrical wiring through the conduit. This advice did not come the 35+ year master electrician. No, this advice came from a 35+ year…
The holiday season is upon us. Holidays are a time to visit with family, extended family, and friends who are like family. Holidays are that one time a year when differences are put aside and you are grateful to have family and friends to share in the festivities. In the words of the Doubter, “sheeeet”. Yeah right, holidays are about spending money. Money spent on gifts for them, gifts for you. Money spent on food, travel, clothes, decorations, and all…
* This is a short post. Having completed this post and while preparing videos to place inside, the internet went wonky and the post was lost. As in to quote Buzz Lightyear “GONE! ALL GONE!” It was not be found in the web browser history, cache, or in deleted folders. It was just gone. Poof. Two hours worth of work, GONE. So yeah, this is a crappy post and I apologize * Trench, trench, trench….all day long. Once the finesse…
The first Hole to Nowhere was dug because the Planner and the Kid were simply doing what boys do. The second Hole to Nowhere was dug to contain water being pumped out of the well in efforts to produce better tasting water. The third and final hole to nowhere, well it was dug professionally. Crazy huh, even professionals dig holes to nowhere. Living in a small town does have its benefits, sometimes. Last week, after hearing about the well being…
D-day, again. Today for the second roll-off job, it was just the Planner, the Kid, the neighbor kid, and me today. The Doubter had other commitments this weekend. But don’t worry, he called about a dozen times the few days before and a few dozen times over the weekend. It absolutely killed him the roll-off had to wait till Sunday to be removed from the trailer. He just couldn’t understand why it couldn’t be done earlier. It wasn’t like there…
Ahh, the big box stores. There is a love hate relationship from the word go. Love to go, love to roam around, love to feel the possibilities of improvements. Hate to roam around looking for 32 gallon trash can because who knew they are not found in the lawn and garden section, hate the disappointment when only lidded 32 gallon trash cans are available, hate the fact the purchase total is never less than a $100. Building materials are expensive. …
The goal of Boxes in Fields has always been to build conscientious of the surroundings and the environment. Sustainable, to use a cliche. I read somewhere people can be part of a movement and not be on the extreme fringes. For example, moving from a 3500 square foot house to a 2500 sq ft house might seem not seem like much of a sacrifice to the reduction warrior in his 36 sq ft dumpster home conversion, but reducing is reducing….
The Texas Triangle. When Boxes in Fields needs to visit both big city #2 and big city #1 on the same day, the drive makes a triangle on the map. This trip is strongly avoided for it makes for a very long day. From home base to big city #2 where containers are bought is three hours. Big city #2 to big city #1 where loaner machinery and tools are located is another three hours. Big city #1 to home…
Decided to take a break from Boxes In Fields for a road trip to big city #1. In the next coming week, ditches will be dug in preparation for water and electrical lines and the backhoe attached was being borrowed for the tractor. Digging 300 feet of trench 2 feet deep by hand was not an option and it would take more than a day for a rental usage. Rental fees for a days worth of use for a trencher…
Safety, safety, safety. This is something I cannot stress enough. Machines are mean and are NEVER to be trusted. If you don’t believe me, just scroll through the internet one day. Machines break, cut, disembowel, and kill people. Jesh, that sounds so harsh. But the truth is the truth and hiding from the truth only gets you dumb. There, I stated that nicely. When working with machinery the first and most important safety skill to observe every minute of every…
We eat. All of us. If you don’t eat, then you better get to reading, cause you’re not gonna be here long. And boy do we love to eat. Grab some fast food stats and you will be floored at the amount of crap we shove down our gullets. And here’s the kicker, everything that goes in, sooner or later must come out. The average human poops 128 grams per day or about 4.5 ozs. Now I would speculate in…
It seems as though as it is all work and no play and that is just not true. There has been lots of fun times at Boxes in Fields, too. The Yodeling doggo. If we owned ten thousands acres to roam around, doggo would be found day after day at 10,001 acre mark. To keep her from roaming away while working, she is tied to the tree or left in the car, depending upon the heat and length of stay. …
D-Day. It wasn’t good then and I didn’t anticipate it being good today either. The unloading of the first shipping container has been a source of stress for everyone in various levels. Weeeeeell, that might be a stretch. I was stressing it, the Planner’s dad (the Doubter) is helping and he is slightly stressing, so inadvertently it is stressing the Planner. The box has been sitting on the trailer for the last week taunting me. It’s so much taller and…
Last Friday the Planner and the Kid purchased a power pole from an approved seller. An approved seller, what is that you ask? According to the only local power supplier (the company who owns all the power lines) in this area, the power pole must built using pre-approved components to their exact specifications. To our luck, the poles can be bought from an approved seller and installed yourself. The assembled pole comes with the correct electrical meter box for your…
Last week the turbo malfunctioned leaving the truck running off prime. It would drive itself at regular speeds, but could not, would not haul a load. Parts were ordered to replace the worn out turbo, another trip to big city #1 was made and several hours later with the help from the Doubter and a friend or two, the truck was back in one piece. Taking advantage of the situation by being in the big city #1, and after much…
Once again it was house divided. The Planner went to pick up the first shipping container in big city #2 at dark-thirty, the Kid went to grandmas for the day sometime later while still dark-thirty, and I was up at a later dark thirty. Getting up with the darkness does have it benefits. The world is quiet and sunrises. After completing some chores when the world was still dark, I finally went to work just as the first light began…
Back to square three. In the great debacle of attempting to gain drinkable water at Boxes in Fields, the city was contacted in regards to the cost estimate for having city water brought down. Last year when working through the due diligence before buying the land, a utilities request was completed confirming or denying city water, septic, and gas. City water and gas required an extension and city sewer required engineer. From the numerous other properties looked at over the…
Let me start out right now by warning you this post is long and detailed with no pictures. After ten long days of testing and a nine-page report, it was determined by the independent lab, our water was the worst of all waters. It took them nine pages to tell us what we already knew, our water problems were far from over. It took them nine pages to inform us our water contained 6359 mg/l of total dissolved solids. What…
Ah, the waiting place… In the attempts to remain positive while the well water is being tested at an independent lab, a hole is being dug. Yes, another hole. These boys and their holes. Yesh. Why the hole you ask? Well, it’s for the well. The well water that is. For the third time in as many weeks, we will be attempting to flush the well in hopes for better water. This time instead of allowing the water to drain…
When I was little I read a book where the main character went to a museum to visit the last living tree. This book has haunted my memories. I have looked and looked for this book as an adult but have never found it. This book, written at least 40 years ago, is more prevalent today than ever. If the author is alive, I wonder how he views the current state of affairs on the decline of trees. Sure there…
Just when things starting rolling along at Boxes In Fields, everyday life tends to kick you. Went to visit family over the weekend and all was lovely until we were half way home. Driving along it sounded like a stick was stuck under the truck. The sound was made when driving straight, turning to the left or the right, driving slow, or running down the highway. Tires go round and round, round and round and should not wobble side to side. …
Went to look at a trailer today to haul shipping containers and my first thought was “that’s a big un”. I have been dragging trailers around since forever. Well not forever, but close to it. There have been homemade short box trailers, wide construction trailers, farm trailers, dump trailers, goosenecks, several different travel trailers, and tiny little sailboat trailers. Trailers have been hauled in the pouring down rain during rush hour traffic, cross-country on roads not wide enough for cars,…
It that not the most beautiful bottle of water you have ever seen? Look all you want but you can’t have it. In the book The Rime of the Ancient Mariner was the simple line describing life on a boat, “water, water, everywhere , nor any drop to drink”. Sadly, this line still applies in the modern society of the 21st century where too many people do not have access to safe drinking water. Even more sadly is the simple…
I have heard of New York time, Central Standard time, and beach time. Where we live there is such a thing as local time. Locals have a love-hate relationship with what is referred to as “our city’s name-ian” time. This is a small mom and pop county of 20K people. There is no rush hour traffic, no rush to beat peak hours at the one and only grocery store, and there is surely no rush to get work done. In…
The weather has been hot, hot, hot. For some reason, the last two evenings have been slightly cooler making the evenings nice. Taking advantage of the nice weather, we decided to enjoy the weather from the tailgate of our truck at the property. The solitude was wonderful, well more solitude than at the RV park we currently stay. The peace and quiet were exactly what I wanted. Ahhhh. This lasted all of ten minutes before the boys were off doing…
There are things that come with age. Wisdom, knowledge, and maturity. Poor eyesight, decrease in flexibility and range of motion, and weaker immune system. I don’t consider myself young nor am I old. I’m kinda stuck in the middle. Sometimes, no matter the age, it takes experience for one to learn and appreciate wise old sayings. Take for example “Leaves of three”. This statement has been repeated and repeated, year after year by parents, grandparents, outdoor enthusiasts, and other knowledgeable…
After all that work clearing, it became evident moving the Airstream under the trees would not work well. Yes, trees provide shade, buffer street lights and road traffic, and hinder the breeze. Hindering the breeze is not an option. Just because we are moving from the RV park to the property does not mean we are gonna change our living styles. Natural light and fresh air are important to maintain a healthy RV. Too many people in a small space…
A family divided. The kid has camp again this week, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. With the Kid occupied and me am at work, the Planner borrowed the tractor again to piddle at the property during his family free week. Not me, I’d spend my family free time at home in the AC drawing on the house plans. It may not be the dog days of summer but temperatures will still be in the upper 90’s…
Scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. The neighbor is letting us use her driveway until ours is built. There is legal access but it is two blocks down a paper street, a never improved road owned by the county. A road laid out when the subdivision was established in the 50’s. This paper road runs where our grass patch grows into the neighbor’s beautiful coastal field. As a way to say thank you for such neighborly pleasantries, we cut…
Bye kid of mine, have fun at grandma’s and at camp. I will see you in 12 days!!! Woo-hoo, what to do with my free time? Oh, that’s right, work. The first week the Kid was gone was the normal 9-5. The second week was when the fun started. I took a week of vacation from work to work. Yup, sort of like a staycation. Only not as relaxing. Up at daylight, work until it was too hot to think….
Is another man’s trash. So many decisions on where to start. Start here, start there, start anywhere. After countless hours trying to decide where to build, it was decided clearing the trash and the underbrush should be the first step. Of course, clearing is easier said than done. Previous owners and years of neglect have turned this land into a rubbish bin. But don’t worry, good money was paid for that rubbish. Hopefully, some of this material can be reused…